1st Prof Ethics Quiz (Overview of the Theories, etc)

Who would be a virtuous agent?

One who acts virtuously, one who exercises the virtues/character traits. If an action is what they would do in the circumstances, then that means the action is right.

Why would one do the right thing if they're keeping the categorical imperative (utilitarianism) in mind?

One would do the right thing because they committed themselves to acting according to the moral law.

According to Kant, what earns us a place among the community of moral agents?

Our possession of a rational will. Kant says that our moral intuitions tell us that moral evaluation centers on the agent's motives. So if an action had the best intentions but goes wrong in reality, the action was still good because the motive was good.

What are agents?

People who carry out actions. Their character traits that shape those actions are also important.

What does ethics mean to thinkers like Plato and Aristotle (virtue)?

ethics means developing virtues like wisdom, justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence. A good life consists in forming habits of character.

What is ethics education all about?

fostering critical and reflective thinking about morality and existing moral assumptions.

What is justification?

giving reasons/evidence for the truth or falsehood of a given judgement, requiring you to examine the evidence for and against it.

What are the two versions of utilitarianism?

Act and Rule Utilitarianism

What are two strengths of consequentialist reasoning (Hoppe book)?

1) They appeal to a common-sense experience; people do things to accomplish things/produce results. 2) It appeals to a public criterion of right and wrong since its focus is on the results of actions that we and others can observe and assess.

What are the 3 main aspects of ethical theories?

1) Attempts to clearly articulate what the standard for moral reasoning should be, 2) Why that is the appropriate standard, and 3) How that standard or reasoning process is to be applied to our moral decision-making.

What are two major questions for consequential ethics?

1) For whom are we judging the consequences against, and 2) What sorts of consequences should we hope to achieve (what makes a good one good and a bad one bad, etc)

What does B+W say are the two advantages of using Kohlberg's theory?

1) It ensures that the 'main organizing principle', the ideal of respect for each person as an individual is at the forefront of decisions. 2) It resolves the conflict between two moral principles; if they're ranked, you would follow the one that's more important.

What are the 3 bigg problems with Virtue Ethics?

1) It places primary emphasis on forming good habits of character but the character traits that are virtuous vary from time to time and from culture to culture so you can't always rely on that. 2) Virtue ethics lacks universality in its application; a person who's way older than someone might have different virtues for example. 3) Virtue ethics lacks clarity when you apply it to specific issues; Virtue ethics does not have clear guidance for which virtue is relevant to a given situation.

For ethics, what are the four things that could be measured when it comes to an action?

1) Its consequences (happiness or pain), 2) Adherence to certain forms of law, 3) Moral rights (if an action would promote or violate), 4) Virtue/good character

What are the 2 bigg problems with Utilitarianism?

1) Just focusing on the consequences disregards the motive/intention of actions; two assassins who want to kill the president but one kills the other instead. 2) Both rule and act utilitarianism are flawed (and all utilitarians are one or the other) in that rule utilitarianism is just rule worshipping, and act utilitarianism wrongly assumes the consequences of each act can be accurately predicted.

What are the two kinds of reasons that you would give as evidence to justify an ethical decision?

1) Reasons based on the effects of the decision and 2) Reasons may be based on relevant ethical principles

What are the problems of duty ethics?

1) Since just about any act can be universalized if you qualified it enough (to be a universal law according to the categorical imperative) it waters down the effectiveness of the moral theory. 2) Two duties can be in conflict and duty ethics doesn't give much guidance for that. 3) There's no room for exceptions according to the categorical imperative (can't lie even when it would yield tremendous good because lying, when universalized as a universal law is hella bad) and individual circumstances aren't accounted for.

What were three critical components that added to the Colgan Air crash before it happened?

1) The captain had a history of FAA certificate disapprovals, Colgan air had poor approach-to-stall training, and the low pay of the FO required her to have a hellish commute to work which fatigued her big time.

What are the 3 problems with Kantian Deontology, according to Hoppe?

1) The categorical imperative has no room for exceptions even if it would cause a really good result; you can add qualifiers to situations, but then you dilute the spirit of the imperative. 2) It doesn't give any guidance when two moral duties come into conflict, there can never be a genuine moral dilemma under this; you can rank moral duties but then the list gets big and more random so it's useless. 3) Kant, jst like Utilitarianism has a narrower view of what it means to be a moral agent. Some philosophers have argued that one's feelings/human sentiment could be crucial to morality.

What are the 2 bigg problems with duty ethics?

1) The principle of universalizability is inadequate on its own; Depending on the action, circumstance, and specific qualifications, almost any action could be universalized, making it hard to rely on this principle. 2) Two duties can conflict; Then what does one do.

What are 2 problems with Egoism?

1) There's conflicts in saying everyone should act according to their own self-interest when a person's interest conflicts with our own. Is it morally wrong to pursue your own self-interest when it would harm my own? 2) If someone is motivated by self-interest, how would they be trusted?

Why does ethical decision making rely on ethical theories or moral principles (2 reasons)?

1) They express our most deeply held convictions and 2) Ethical principles play an important role in the effort to arrive at a decision about what is best in a given case.

How does Virtue ethics fix the two main problems in ethical theories with universal principles?

1) Universal principles aren't reliable decision procedures for morally correct answers in certain cases and takes too much time for some cases. 2) The other theories don't usually take into account a big part of morality-the character of the moral agent.

What are two weaknesses with virtue ethics?

1) What counts as a virtue is not certain. One person's virtue may be another person's vice, and you can't defer to the virtuous person since you can't definitively say which person is the more virtuous one. 2) In particular situations, especially moral quandaries that don't have a clear way out, virtue ethics doesn't offer much help since there's nothing clear cut about it.

Why does Ethics study actions?

Actions are studied in order to figure out which principles should guide them and whether certain actions are permissible, impermissible, or obligatory.

How many forms of the categorical imperative (the one) are presented according to Kant and which does B+W go over?

4 forms are presented, but 1+3 are the most famous.

What is an ethical value judgement?

A judgement of right or wrong, good or bad, better or worse, what ought or ought not to be done.

What is the Equal Consideration of Interests (ECI)?

A moral principle that says that one should include all affected interests when calculating the rightness of an action and weigh every one of those interests equally.

What is a deontological theory and whose moral theory is it identified with when it comes to utilitarianism?

A normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether the action is right or wrong under a series of rules. For utilitarianism, that theory (deontological) is identified with Immanuel Kant.

What is ethical egoism?

A normative theory that says that an action is right if it promotes one's own self-interest.

What is intent?

A state of mind/mental attitude. It's the purpose to use a particular means to effect a result and is the primary element in an action. It comes from motivations

What is meta-ethics about?

A study on the concept of ethics. It's more on the meaning, definition, and use of moral terms. It investigates the meaning of ethical terms, asking what the meaning of "good/bad" and "right/wrong" is.

What did Mill say about what makes actions morally right or wrong?

Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness (both as a result of the consequences of the actions). Happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain. Happiness is not the agent's happiness, but of all concerned.

What is the fundamental principle of morality, according to Kant?

Aka, the categorical imperative, "Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law"

Whose moral theory is Virtue Theory?

Aristotle

How should we treat people, according to Kant?

As persons, not just tools for our own convenience

What does B&W say about what ethics is?

B+W says that Ethics is the study of how to live life well.

How does deontology assess actions (human agents)?

Based on whether or not human actions accord with a universal rule of morality.

Why should we focus on developing correct traits of character?

Because once we've developed a morally virtuous character, then we'll be better able to see and do what is morally right (though if someone has character flaws that are bad, like van Zanten's impatience and lack of humility, it can cause things like the Tenerife crash.)

How does Utilitarianism technically support human rights/justice?

Breaching these things breeds distrust and bad attitudes toward rights. Society promotes happiness the best when it chooses to respect human rights and the rule of justice as general policy. At best though, human rights are really just respected as a useful means to happiness.

What does a just society affirm?

Certain virtues and conceptions of the good life.

What is the purpose of applied ethics?

Citing and evaluating evidence the evidence that reveals which option of a choice is the most justified.

What does your choice in regards to Gatsby have?

Consequences

What are the two theories of ethical reasoning discussed in Ch1 of Hoppe?

Consequentialist (value-maximizing) and Deontological (duty-based reasoning).

How is Conventional Morality opposed to Egoism?

Conventional morality postpones immediate self-interest and urges a concern for the welfare of the group. Egoism is all about your own self interest so...

When ethicists talk about a theory of ethics, what are they concerned with?

Determining what standard should be used to evaluate the morality of actions and then determining how to order competing standards?

What are your options for your boss's demand/what are the main things you would think?

Do nothing, do what your boss tells you to do, consider ECI, conflicting goals are present, and you need to ethically justify it.

If you decide to do the Gatsby thing ethically, what might you throw out as justification?

Doing it could lead to big, bad, unknown consequences; the union could file a grievance which would be on your record and that would be bad for the airline and you. You could also argue that your duty to treat employees fairly and transparently (bigg ethical principle) requires you to figure something out.

What would your decision to do nothing for Gatsby say, ethically?

Doing nothing shows that you decided not to do something that would benefit your employer. You not acting says that you feel your duty to your employer isn't as important as other considerations.

In a simple sense, what is deontology concerned with?

Doing one's moral duty

What is egoism?

Egoism is the view that the standard that one should use to determine the best course of action is self-interest.

What's at stake for your boss's demand?

Ethical values

How might you have conflicting goals in regards to Gatsby?

Ethically, you wouldn't want to move him, but you don't want to lose your job. In the event that you disagreed with your boss, you could do that if there were management policies in place. You might also not be sure if treating Gatsby like this is completely unethical or just slightly unethical. Would doing or not doing this affect career advancement in the airline?

Compare ethics of conduct vs ethics of character

Ethics of Conduct forces us to think about what actions we should perform. Ethics of Character helps us define what sort of people we should be.

What kind of ethics are consequentialism and deontology?

Ethics of conduct

What are the specific theories for consequentialism for the agent and for everyone affected?

For the agent-egoism; For everyone affected-utilitarianism

What is Kant's major text and what idea does he develop in it?

Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals and the idea of a categorical imperative.

Where does most of Kant's moral philosophy come from?

Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals

What is the demand your boss makes of you in regards to Gatsby?

He wants you, the shift supervisor, to try to motivate Gatsby to quit his job by moving him to the least desirable jobs and assigning him to inconvenient work shifts.

How might consequentialist reasoning be applied to Flight 3407 (Colgan Air)?

If the captain had been honest on his job application (his certificate failures) or if the airline had enforced training better and paid their pilots more.

How does ECI relate to Gatsby?

If you consider it, you wouldn't move Gatsby just because you disliked the guy. Whatever you like and dislike isn't the reason to think that something's right or wrong. Basically, ECI and Gatsby means that you would be impartial and recognize the moral value of everyone equally.

What are the bigg problems with conventional morality?

If you live in a morally corrupt society, "What society thinks is right" isn't actually right, so conforming to it wouldn't make you a good person. A society that seems good might also have social inequalities and discrimination.

Who is the most well-known and influential deontological moralist?

Immanuel Kant

What does Act Utilitarianism say that one should do when faced with a choice of actions?

In each circumstance, one should choose the action that produces the most good for the greatest number of people. Each specific action has its own specific circumstances, so this principle should be applied to each specific action.

What does Rule Utilitarianism say you should do when faced with an action that is generally bad but could be good, like stealing?

In general, an action like stealing produces more harm than good, so even if stealing has good consequences it's still wrong. You might also get caught and face bad consequences or others down the line.

Where does Conventional Morality claim a person's long term self-interest lies?

In maintaining conventional or traditional social standards.

What does a person's virtuous character allow them to do?

It allows them to both perceive the morality of their situation and to act upon that perception.

What is descriptive ethics?

It describes how people behave. An example of this would be a code of ethics for a particular group

What is a flaw of consequentialist reasoning, according to the Hoppe book?

It doesn't capture the whole story. It doesn't do much for moral reasoning, it doesn't adhere to a moral rule or law.

What are some problems with ethical egoism?

It has problems when one person's self-interest conflicts with another person's self-interest (and no one is gonna follow one person's self-interest alone). Additionally, an ethical egoist wouldn't be trusted, since they would be willing to lie/mislead/cheat if it would benefit them.

Besides the lack of specific focus on human rights/justice, what is another problem with Utilitarianism according to Hoppe?

It ignores the fact that everyones' actions involve other sorts of ends/goals as well.

What is applied ethics and what is its purpose?

It is the study of the use of ethical values. Its purpose is to cite and evaluate evidence for the truth or falsehood of an ethical value judgement.

How does Utilitarianism relate to human rights or justice?

It really doesn't, unless following them would cause the most general happiness and the least general pain. So if society would be enormously happy if one person were to be randomly killed, even though that's not just and not good for human rights, that would technically be the best thing to do.

What is utilitarianism/the principle of utility?

It says that one should choose the course of action that produces the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people. An action is right if it is useful.

What does descriptive ethics do/aim for?

It seeks to describe how people behave and how people/groups think and act.

What is ethical altruism and why is it not super feasible?

It's a form of consequentialist theory that says that we should judge the moral character of an action by the level of good consequences it has for others, with no regard for one's own self-interests. This falls apart when everyone would be doing things for others since no one would be around to receive all the altruistic actions. Also, this theory really underestimates individual self-interest.

How is virtue described, according to Aristotle?

It's a state of character produced by habit that avoids extremes by aiming at moderation. Such a state of character helps make someone good and perform their function well.

What are strengths of Kantian Deontology, according to Hoppe?

It's good at emphasizing the moral agent's dignity and worth, questioning Utilitarianism's sole focus on happiness as the ultimate value for persons. Kant also highlights the value of being true to ourselves since we're rational moral agents. Therefore, his philosophy serves as a ground for strong claims to moral rights.

Who are two of the most famous proponents of utilitarianism and what did they each argue?

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. They each argued that the standard for judging actions should be the principle of utility.

Who first clearly presented Utilitarian-type ideas in an ethical theory?

Jeremy Bentham.

Who was one of the most famous exponents of Utilitarianism?

John Stuart Mill.

Who is most associated with Deontology?

Kant

What is one way of describing Deontological Ethics, according to the ppt?

Kant's account of duties and rights; It's one's moral duty.

How does Hoppe describe Utilitarianism?

One ought to promote the general happiness, everyone as a group (yourself included).These kinds of theories emphasize impartiality. Essentially, the standard of moral right and wrong is the extent to which actions contribute to or detract from happiness.

What is temperance?

Moderation, self-restraint

What is the main criticism that virtue theorists have towards theories based on universal principles?

No theory based on universal principles can yield a wholly satisfactory result all the time because morality can't be condensed to universal principles because it's too gaint and complicated to be reduced without significant loss.

What does Rule Utilitarianism say you should do when faced with a choice of actions?

One should choose the action that produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people.

What are the bigg problems with egoism?

People who follow this become not only selfish, but can't consistently apply this theory either. This is seen when one has an interest to do one thing for self-interest but then it's also in their self-interest to do a different thing instead. That problem is typically seen in conflicts between integrity and financial gain. Another issue is that one's self-interest is to have friends and relations to rely on in times of need, the process of doing which goes against their own self-interest.

Who are the peeps who were big on Virtue Ethics?

Plato, Aristotle, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Martin Buber

Who are the egoism figures B+W mentions?

Plato, Ayn Rand, Plato's character Callicles, the lead character in the film Wall Street.

What are the four people the ppt associates with egoism?

Plato, Machiavelli, Nietzsche, and Ayn Rand.

What are the only things desirable as ends in Utilitarianism?

Pleasure and Freedom from Pain, everything else is desirable for the pleasure inherent in them or in order to promote pleasure and prevent pain.

What was the probable cause of the Colgan Air crash?

The captain's inappropriate response to the activation of the stick shaker.

What is Kant's third formulation of the categorical imperative?

Respect for persons. Basically, one should act so that you treat people always as an end and never just as a means. To treat someone as an end, a rational being free to make their own choices, is to treat them with the respect befitting a human being. You can treat someone as a means and an end, but just don't use them (treating them as a means only).

Why is Kant's ethics sometimes spoken of as an ethics of universalization?

Since we're all rational wills, we are essentially like one another. What you are willing to allow yourself to do, you must allow all others to do as well. (Lying is a big no no for him)

What is the most important virtue?

Wisdom. All other virtues depend on it, it's what you have render judgement concerning individual cases.

Why is it hard to make moral decisions today?

Society is composed of lots of groups with different, and conflicting moral traditions.

How does Act Utilitarianism say that you could do bad things, like steal?

Such acts usually have bad consequences, but they may be occasionally warranted if their effects are beneficial under the circumstances.

What does Rule Utilitarianism recognize?

That it's basically impossible to accurately predict the consequences of every single action.

What should we consider when we make a decision?

The choices available, the outcomes of each choice, and their likely impact on people's lives. You also need to know what the ethical values are in each decision, what are violated and what are upheld, weighing them.

Why would Utilitarians recommend honesty in job applications, especially for pilots?

The costs involved are far greater for those that die from a potential case in the future that could have been prevented if the applicant had just been honest.

What did Plato's character Callicles argue about egoism?

The good life is to be found when you follow your own desires.

What is a system of values?

The mores and values that guide the behavior of individuals or members of a given group. This can't be ethics because two groups would have different value systems.

For Kant, what matters and what's morality about?

The motive. Morality for him is about respecting persons as ends in themselves, not about maximizing happiness or other ends

What would be the best action to choose, according to egoism?

The one that produces THE MOST INDIVIDUAL PLEASURE and AVOIDS THE MOST PAIN

What does ethical theory involve determining?

The standard by which systems of mores are to be judged. It involves figuring out the standard that should be used to evaluate the morality of actions and how to go about ordering other competing standards.

What is normative ethics?

The study of how to determine ethical values, bridging the gap between meta-ethics and applied ethics.. It tries to determine how people ought to act, seeking to create or evaluate moral standards. It asks which norms (typical/expected patterns of behavior) for the evaluation of conduct should we accept and why.

Besides the def about it being the study of how to live life well, what is ethics?

The study of values and mores

What is psychological egoism?

The view that it's a fact of human psychology that people always act out of self-interest.

What does a serious violation of trust say about those who caused that?

They all acted unethically.

How are people goal-oriented?

They make choices that aim at certain goals in order to produce certain results. The actual results of the actions are what human actions are judged to be morally correct/wrong on.

How would actions accord with a universal rule/law of morality?

They're actions that an agent ought to do, regardless of what the actual consequences might be. They're morally good because what they did reflects the standard of a universal moral law.

What does Mores mean and what are some?

They're fixed noms, morally binding customs of a group or society that includes manners and habits. Violating them may have consequences. A couple are-American social conventions and etiquette

What level does Ayn Rand take Egoism?

To a philosophic ethic.

Why does the B+W book study Kohlberg's theory?

To recognize that there are many moral perspectives, but that some can be ranked so that some concerns have more priority than others.

According to Kant, what does acting ethically mean?

To strive to act in ways that do not hurt other people, that respect their dignity, individuality, and unique moral value, and that treat others as equally important to oneself.

What are three virtues that are important to aviation?

Trustworthiness, patience, commitment

What is Kant's first formulation of the categorical imperative?

Universalization. IT's the idea that one should act only according to the maxim by which one can will that that action should become a universal law. Basically, if an action can't be universalized, like lying, it should not be done.

What was a bigg text of Mill?

Utilitarianism

Which two ethical theories does the ppt like best for making reasonably clear decision procedures of making moral choices?

Utilitarianism and Kantianism (deontology)

How does Utilitarianism get around criticism that it just wants people to seek out any pleasures?

Utilitarians are adamant that human pleasures are also of a higher kind, like intellect and noble sentiments, both of which deserve more consideration than the lower pleasures.

What are the strengths of virtue ethics?

Virtue ethics calls to mind the particularity of moral situations-particular individuals make particular choices in particular circumstances. It also points out that a sense of moral integrity and moral conscience is very important to our moral experience. Basically, it covers the bases of the stuff that universal principle-based ethics misses.

What is the definition of virtues and how are they developed?

Virtues are admirable traits of character that make one more likely to behave in a certain manner (kindness, just, humility, benevolence). They're developed in a person through education, training, and exercise. After a learning curve, a person with ingrained moral values will quickly and easily perform action choices in a morally correct way.

What is one of the most serious difficulties that we face in moral arguments?

We disagree over just what it is we think we ought to be measuring.

What does Aristotle say we have to do to determine the just distribution of a good?

We have to inquire into the telos (purpose) of the good being distributed.

What are we morally obliged to do, according to deontological ethics and what is that action?

What is morally right, no matter what the consequences are. The morally right action is one that is done solely for the sake of duty, what one ought to do.

What is a divine command ethic (deontological ethics theory)?

What makes an act morally right or wrong is its conformity to moral laws laid down by God.

What is the rational will, according to Kant?

What we, as persons, really are. So when we're supposed to respect other persons we should respect that people have the ability to make reasoned choices for themselves. So people are autonomous, and to disregard that is to disregard one's innermost being. That's why you can't just treat someone just as a means.

What's the problem with virtue ethics?

What's virtuous for you (and your culture) may not be so for me with my different background/culture. Essentially, there's minimal universality and minimal clarity as well for the correct virtue in any given case.

What's the main difference between rule and act utilitarianism?

While both focus on whatever thing produces the greatest amount of good (and/or the least amount of pain), Rule Utilitarianism focuses on the following the rule that does that, and Act Utilitarianism focuses on the action that does that. The best choice will be the morally right action in the end.

What is the result of actually carrying out your boss's suggestions for Gatsby?

You would clearly harm Gatsby, not treating him honestly. You're going against your duty to be fair, the spirit (not intent) of the union-management agreement, and would be harming your reputation potentially. You're following your duty to your employer and harming important personal values like honesty.

What are values the sum of?

Your beliefs

What is a categorical imperative?

a command of practical reason that is universal and necessary. It's basically a moral norm that applies to the actions of RATIONAL BEINGS and is morally binding. It's unconditionally necessary.

What kind of ethics is virtue theory?

an ethics of character

What does applied ethics provide us with?

an orderly way of thinking about ethics and a common vocabulary, helping us to resolve moral dilemmas by giving us structure using broad moral principles and frameworks.

How does egoism place itself into moral life?

at the center

What does ethical theory involve?

determining the standard by which systems of mores are to be judged.

What is justice?

equity/fairness/impartiality/just behavior/reward and punish

What is an agent (PPT)?

the person who carries out an action

What are virtues, according to MacIntyre in his book After Virtue?

habits that bring about self-actualization so that one can flourish as a human being. It goes beyond a human concern for personal pleasure by including aspirations for social goods and healthy human relationships.

What is wisdom?

having quality of experience, knowledge, and good judgement; to be wise

What is moral action?

human behavior associated with responsibility, accountability, and personal culpability.

What two qualities would consequentialists seek to maximize?

human happiness and human fulfillment

What's the problem with utilitarianism?

if we're just focused on the consequences, we forget the intention and motive aspect of actions, which play a big role in determining the morality of said actions.

What would teological theories look at?

just the consequences/end of what we do (conduct)

What are values (ppt)?

something as a principle or quality that is intrinsic or desirable and sought.

What is motive?

the cause or reason that prompts a person to act or fail to act, impelling an action. It's also the long-term goal of the act.

What is utilitarianism mainly concerned with when it comes to actions?

the consequences of action

What is ethical egoism?

the ethics of self-interest. What is morally right is the action that has the most beneficial consequences for me.

What kind of action does Duty Ethics say is right?

the morally right action is the one that is done solely for the sake of duty, not because it is socially expected or it is one's moral duty.

What does conventional morality state?

the standard for right and wrong/a moral life is the customary rules or practices/expectations of one's society.

What is a normative theory?

the study of ethical action, what motivates people to do the things they do.

What is Ethics?

the study of the justification of ethical value judgements.

What is the true source of morality according to virtue theorists?

the virtue of the moral agent.